Colin Clark on Prescriptions

Boise, USA,
1/31/2009

Colin Clark has been filming quality montages for us at Tacky for a while now. At the same time he's been working on the new film for his local skateshop in Boise, USA where he is also a team rider. We caught up with him for an interview.

Hey Colin! What is the Prescriptions video?Prescriptions is a local skateboarding video from Boise, Idaho featuring the Prestige skateshop team. It is the second video from the shop, and focuses on the new and younger riders on the team.

What was the process of filming for it like?It came together really fast. I started filming on August 12th, and it premiered on December 12th so it was exactly four months to film, edit, produce and premiere a full length skateboard video, which is pretty quick. It was actually really easy going though. We went out filming every single day in Boise, no road trips, just around town. For a couple days in the beginning it was over 100 degrees outside, but we just drank lots of water and took breaks. Everyone was cool to film with, everyone was excited to get out and pull tricks and we found lots of new spots. We had the normal challenges of getting kicked out, or skaters busting their asses for hours and not being able to pull it. The worst part is having a really dope spot in your home town, but never being able to skate it. Not even one try. We have a couple spots like that, and its just kind of a tease, which sucks. Obviously the best part is when you go out and everyone gets a trick. That's the best feeling. Everyone is stoked for each other, and it just makes for a really cool vibe.

What is the Prestige Skateshop?Prestige is the only all skateboarding shop in Boise so it has a really good scene. Everyone respects it and it's an awesome place to hang out. Paul and Greg are the owners, and the only employees so they are always down to hang out and skate around. It's in downtown, between a fashion hair salon and a tattoo parlor, and down the street from the liquor store, so there are always interesting characters walking around. There are big bay windows so its always good people-watching. Prestige does a lot for the local skate community, building banks to skate at the park, donating to skate comps, having skate nights, Christmas parties for the team and hosting premieres for new skate videos. They just did a re-model of the store, so its looking really good. Cool new lit-up shoe rack, big metal board shelf, and wall of all the shop models over the last four years they've been open.

You have included quite a bit of footage from your trip to Europe in the film, what are some of the differences between filming in Europe and the states?There are a lot differences between filming in Europe and the states, pros and cons on both sides. Little things such as there aren't any outlets to plug in your gear (lights, phones, camera batteries) at skatespots which is weird. It's impossible to try to find outside outlets. The trains are amazing though. Just hop on and go from country to country super easy and organized. But the biggest difference is probably getting kicked out. Every time I see police coming, I'm ready to grab my bag and go, but in Europe they just come up and talk, and let us leave on the honor system. That's insane coming from being held up by police at gunpoint a couple times for skating the wrong spot at the wrong time.

How has the reception been of the film?So far the reception has been really good. Seems like people really like the songs which is cool because that is something I had a lot of help on. Almost everyone picked their own song, and for montages I had friends like Donny help out with some tunes. Another thing that people mention is the overall look of the video. Since it was filmed in a short amount of time, all the shots are in the same season and everyone has the same style. I filmed everything with one camera and all 24p so it would give the actual clips the same look, and that is rare in big videos because they hire a lot different filmers with a lot of different cameras to make the film. It's cool to work on a smaller sized project and have so much control of the how the finished product is going to turn out.

You film quite a bit for us at Tacky, what are the main differences between filming for a website and for a DVD?Filming for a website, montages and clips need to be filmed and edited quickly because people are not going to care who won what competition three months ago. So its nice to work on a full length project where I can spend more time to edit, making titles, picking songs, getting extra shots. Also, even though it's getting better, DVDs still look better then the internet, so it's fun to watch a project in full quality at a friends house or the shop.

What are your aspirations as a film maker?I would like to make videos that bring emotion to the audience, get them excited to go skate, but also be able to show what its like to be out trying to pull tricks and dodge security. It's always a fine line in skateboard videos between too much skating and too much artsy/lifestyle, so I'm always trying to make a nice balance between the two.

Who are some of your favourite skate films and film makersI think that everyone is influenced by the first interaction they have with a particular subject, and for skate videos and me, that would be Transworld's "The Reason" and "Modus Operandi". I remember being in 9th grade and going over to friends' houses and just watching those videos and dissecting them over and over. I loved everything about them. How much drama they used to put in the montages, juxtaposing stress and joy. They used Built to Spill songs which is a band originally from Boise. Those videos still have an huge impact on me, and what I want to do with my film making. I like film makers who use a lot of cinematic tools in skateboard filming, such as dollys, crane, helicopters, b-roll, because I know it so much harder to get good footage like that when your out in gutter filming someone for three hours trying the same thing over and over. So I can really appreciate it. On a local level, my friends Ethan and Zach helped me out a lot when I was starting to film and edit, just giving me useful tips like get the whole skater in the frame, and only use your best shots, stuff I still try to always do.

What's the best thing about making a skate film?Loving your job.

What's the worst thing about making a skate film?Money.

What are you up to in 2009?I just did a video for SPoTlight productions at the Damn Am awards in San Diego last week, and that was a really fun trip hanging out with the Tampa dudes. I move back to Europe next week and will be staying in Holland, so I want to just travel and film tons, lots of competitions and demos, and plan on filming/editing/premiering a full length Europe video by fall, so look out for that to come out.

Who do you want to thank?Thanks to Paul and Greg at Prestige for all the support, every skater in the video, especially all my Boise and Nampa friends because they are the reason this video was a success and why I had so much fun making it, my parents, and you guys at Tacky.

Thanks Colin! Stay tuned for more of Colin's quality montages throughout the year here at Tacky.

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